Since 13 July, around 176,000 people have been displaced from Sweida, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Mostly migrating to neighbouring Dar’a and Rural Damascus governorates, civilians are fleeing violent clashes between Bedouin tribal fighters, Syrian caretaker government forces and Druze militias. Meanwhile in the north of the country, […]
Recalling his own experience living under dictatorship in Portugal, Mr. Guterres told participants at the Global Assembly of the international rights charity Amnesty International on Friday that the fight for human rights is “more important than ever”. He called on States to uphold international law and defend human rights “consistently and universally, even or especially […]
Sonia Silva has been working in the embattled enclave since the beginning of November 2023, just one-month after the terror attack by Hamas and other armed groups in southern Israel that sparked the brutal conflict. She spoke to UN News about the misery people have experienced in recent days. “In my one year and eight […]
“Nowhere is safe in Ukraine,” said Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe at the UN Department of Political Affairs (UNDPPA). Citing figures from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, he said civilian casualties reached a three-year high in June, with 6,754 civilians killed or injured in the first half of 2025 alone. Russian forces launched […]
“The thousands of people seeking to return home are driven by hope, resilience and an enduring connection to their country,” said Othman Belbeisi, regional director of the International Organization of Migration (IOM). While this development does offer hope, many of these people are returning to states and cities whose resources have been devastated by […]
The UN Security Council is meeting on Friday morning to discuss the situation in Ukraine amid mounting concerns over the intensifying hostilities and growing humanitarian needs. Senior UN political affairs and humanitarian officials are expected to brief the Council. Follow our live coverage from UN News, in coordination with UN Meetings Coverage, for updates from […]
It recognizes their immense contributions to society but also acknowledges the challenges they face due to the double burden of racism and sexism. Although woman and girls of African descent embody strength, resilience, and untapped potential, they remain among the most marginalized groups globally due to the intersection of racial, gender, and socio-economic discrimination. For […]
Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona received prison sentences of 15 and 12 years for their roles in brutal attacks against civilians – primarily from the country’s mainly Muslim Seleka population – during the 2013-14 civil war. They were found guilty “beyond any reasonable doubt” of leading and facilitating attacks on civilians in the capital, Bangui, […]
The dispute dates to 1953 when France first mapped the border, but tensions resurfaced in May after the death of a Cambodian soldier in a border skirmish. Secretary-General António Guterres is “following with concern” reports of the clashes, his Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists in New York. “The Secretary-General urges both sides to exercise […]
“I started feeling very idealistic about the UN, and I’ve never lost that feeling,” Mr. Stewart told UN News in an exclusive interview. In early August, he steps down as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). His departure comes at a moment of cautious optimism […]
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), said that is what one of its workers told him on Thursday morning. This sobering comment comes amidst increasingly severe malnutrition for children and adults throughout the Gaza Strip. “When child malnutrition surges, coping mechanisms fail, access to food […]
At the end of the conference, Member States adopted a Ministerial Declaration by a vote of 154-2-2, with the United States and Israel voting against the document and Paraguay and Iran abstaining. “We strongly reaffirm our commitment to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda [which]… remains our overarching roadmap for achieving sustainable development and overcoming […]
Briefing the Security Council on Thursday, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, said the OIC remains an “indispensable” partner in efforts to promote peace, uphold international law and deliver durable political solutions in a range of crisis contexts. Headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the OIC has 57 member states and five observers, representing […]
These abuses include threats, cases of torture, mistreatment and arbitrary arrest and detention, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The report said these violations were committed against Afghans “based on their profile” and targeted women, media workers and civil society […]
Marking its 30th anniversary, ISA is the world’s authority on the deep-sea beyond national jurisdiction. Washington may have passed an order on deep-sea licensing in international waters earlier this year, but the authority’s chief Leticia Carvalho said the United States, which is not an ISA member, “is going at it alone”. “The rest of the […]
Deadly sectarian violence has displaced more than 145,000 people in the southern city, some of whom have fled to neighbouring Dar’a and Rural Damascus governorates. The convoy carried a range of critical support, including food, wheat flour, fuel, medicines and health supplies. OCHA coordinated with the SARC to prepare the convoy, which included supplies from UN […]
Nearly 1.3 million people in the Caribbean country have fled their homes, with an additional 15,000 uprooted last week after armed attacks in the communes of Dessalines and Verrettes in the Artibonite department. Further, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have screened more than 217,000 children for acute malnutrition in 2025. Some 21,500 […]
While WFP has been able to hold hunger at bay across northern Nigeria in the first half of 2025, funding shortfalls are jeopardising such efforts, with life-saving programmes set to grind to a halt by the end of July. Without immediate funding, millions of vulnerable people will be left without food assistance as WFP’s […]
Mathare, one of the country’s largest slums, houses upwards of 500,000 people in five square kilometres, cramming them together and storing the human waste they produce in uncovered rivulets. But when he recounted the visit later to UN News, this was not the image that stuck with him the most. Without formal sewage systems, […]
The UN’s principal judicial body ruled that States have an obligation to protect the environment from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and act with due diligence and cooperation to fulfill this obligation. This includes the obligation under the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The court […]